Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery, British Extension
The Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery British Extension, reached through the adjoining communal cemetery, extends a wartime burial ground westwards and focuses its Anglo‑French graves on a central path and plateau with War Stone and Cross of Sacrifice, all enclosed by low walls and atmospheric birch planting.
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Description
The troops gave this name to the cemetery and it refers to the railway station of the two municipalities Bully and Grenay. The cemetery can be reached via the municipal cemetery. The east part of the cemetery consists of graves that were laid out during the war. After the Armistice, the cemetery was extended westward, when graves were transferred from the battlefields east of Grenay and from small cemeteries in the vicinity.
Access is gained through an opening in the wall of the municipal cemetery. The land tablet immediately adjoins the entrance. The entrance fence, as shown on the drawing, has now vanished. From the entrance, a paved path leads to a plateau with the Cross of Sacrifice and the War Stone. There are graves on either side of the path. The other graves are oriented toward the south. The War Stone is situated as far to the east as possible, next to the field with the existing graves. From the War Stone, a second path leads to a seat on the east side, next to the low wall surrounding the cemetery on three sides. On the south side, the wall functions as a retaining wall for the ground of the municipal cemetery which is situated slightly higher. The cemetery is encompassed by birch trees, which give the location an extraordinary ambience. (Geurst, 2010, p.234)
Bibliography
Geurst, J. (2010) Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.
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